Ange Rêve (Angel's Dream)
by may96
Summary: What if Sora had met Sophie and Leon when they were younger? Sora joined Kaleido Stage, and has mastered the Legendary Great Maneuver with Layla. But something is missing. She constantly finds herself remembering a family trip when she was only a little kid. Who is the new performer? Why is he so familiar? Leon, Sora and Sophie's Story. (Leon/Sora). Rating may change
1. Memories Resurface

_**Chapter I**_

_**Memories Resurface**_

.**.~*~.**.

_November 23, 1998_

"_Mama? Papa? Mama!? Papa!?Mama where are you?! Papa?!" wailed a young girl, panic rising with each passing second as people in the audience and performers hurried around her. Tears began streaming down her little and slightly chubby cheeks._

"_Es-tu perdu?" said a soft voice from beside the crying girl. She turned towards the voice, confused but relieve someone had seen her, with a lost look in her eye. The girl had beautiful silvery hair, and was most assuredly a year or more older._

"_Sophie, elle ne te comprend pas. __Elle parle anglais," (Sophie, she doesn't understand you. She speaks English,) a boy said, or rather stated to the girl. He had the same silvery hair, and looked a bit older than the girl._

"_Oui, Leon," the girl named Sophie replied in a slightly patronizing tone, and then continued in heavily accented English. "You are very pushy brother," turning to the little girl in front of her, her voice softened. "I'm Sophie; this is Leon, my brother. Are you lost? What is your name?"_

"_S-Sora," she stuttered out. "I can't find my mommy and daddy," she said sadly, another fat tear rolling down her cheek._

"_Sophie, we don't have time for this. Mom and dad are waiting fo-" he cut off as she sent him a positively murderous glare. "Fine," he sighed, resigned to do as his sister bid._

"_Come on Sora. Let's find your mommy and daddy," Sophie said as she took out a handkerchief and dried some of the little girl's tears. Sora took the square of soft fabric from Sophie as she offered it to her, and clutched it tightly in her little hand._

.**.~*~.**.

"Sora!" May shouted, abruptly shaking Sora from her memories and effectively bringing her back to the present. "Sora, have you hear even a _word_ of what I just told you?" she asked, very clearly exasperated.

"Maybe?" she replied feebly. "Okay, no, not really,"

"I _said_ that Ken asked me out!"

"What? Really? That's so great May! It's about time too," Sora exclaimed, happy for her longtime friend. It was no secret that Ken Robinson, one of the stage managers at Kaleido Stage, had a longtime crush on May.

Originally, when Sora had first started out, Ken had shown some interest in her. But as soon as May walked on stage Ken was completely captivated by her. It worked out well for Sora, seeing as she really didn't like Ken in _that_ way.

"I know! I can't wait! You have to help me get ready tonight. We're goin-" May gushed going on and on about her upcoming date, while Sora tuned her out. Currently the two of them were in practice room 2 on the trampoline. They were rehearsing for the upcoming production.

As of yesterday they were officially performing Romeo and Juliet. Of course Yuri Killian was to play Romeo, and Layla Hamilton Juliet, it wouldn't be the same without them as the leads. May was cast as Rosaline – much to her delight – and Sora, much to her chagrin, wasn't casted as a part in the production, but rather asked to learn May and Layla's roles and act as their understudies. Thus the reason she was here with May, to learn her part.

It was nothing short of a miracle that Layla had been able to come back to Kaleido Stage after breaking her shoulder. She had taken a few months off, at which time she tried acting in some Broadway productions and met Cathy Taymor, the producer of one of the minor shows she had starred in.

Sora began practicing what she knew of May's part. She had learned about the first minute yesterday watching May practice. She was about thirty seconds in when a knock at the door broke her from her practice.

"It's open!" she hollered from her spot in midair. May was still prattling on with no signs of stopping, and Sora hadn't been able to hop off the trampoline without risking injury.

The door opened and Mia poked her head around the side. Mia Guillem, one of Sora's first friends at the stage next to Anna, was directing this production with the help of their usual producer.

"May, I need to take Sora now. Sora, it's time for Layla's rehearsal," Mia said, motioning at Sora to hurry.

The latter hopped off the trampoline, and after a hurried goodbye and confirmation to practice the following day, grabbed her bag and ran towards the stage where Yuri and Layla would be rehearsing.

Rehearsals dragged on the rest of the day until well past dinner time, and Sora didn't get back to her dorm room until after Sarah had locked up the dorms for the night. Luckily Sarah had given Sora a copy of said key so she could get in.

Layla had decided that they needed to finish the scene tonight, and that Sora had to be present for it all, _and_ prove she could perform the scene with Yuri. And Sora had also had to rush back when they had a twenty minute break to help May get dressed for her date.

By the time she had made it into her dorm room she only had enough energy to take a quick shower, eat a small snack, and flop down onto her bed. Her head had barely touched the pillow and she was dreaming.

.**.~*~.**.

"_Sora, do you like the circus?" Sophie asked as she and Sora searched for her parents, Leon close behind them._

"_Yes, it's so pretty. Everyone looks like they're having so much fun! I want to perform onstage one day," she replied enthusiastically._

"_They say a true star can create a stage with no competition. It has been said the _Angel's Maneuver/Act_ can make a person a true star," Sophie said with a wistful sigh._

"_That sounds so pretty… Sophie?" Sora asked tugging slightly on the older girl's sleeve to gain her attention. "My mommy and daddy," she said pointing to where she saw the two._

"_Sora!" her mother and father shouted as they saw her walking with Sophie and waved her over._

_Then suddenly Sora couldn't see them. She could only hear the horrible screeching of a car losing control, and screamed._

.**.~*~.**.

Shooting upright in her bed Sora confirmed it had just been a nightmare. There had been no car accident that day. She had found her parents and given Sophie a light blue ribbon her mom had used to tie her hair with that day. The ribbon had the characters for her name embroidered on one end, and a flower on the other.

She had seen neither Sophie nor Leon since, but she hadn't been back to Paris since then either. She doubted they would remember her. But she would always remember them. She still had Sophie's handkerchief, it was made from some mix of white cotton and silk, and in the corner had an embroidered 'S' in light blue, accompanied by a yellow moon and star.

Sora hadn't left the house without it, ever. It was the one thing she always carried with her. A while back she had bought a locket of sorts that she could fold the fabric into, and wore it around her neck 24/7.

Like she kept the handkerchief, Sora had also held onto Sophie's words about a stage with no competition. But she hadn't been able to find anything on the _Angel's Maneuver/Act_, and as she didn't have a computer she couldn't really look it up online.

.**.~*~.**.

Less than half an hour later Sora was in the dorm's cafeteria/kitchen getting a bowl of cereal and an apple.

She had showered, changed and run through her usual morning yoga.

She plopped down into the seat next to Mia, and across from Anna and May.

"Morning Sora. Are you coming to rehearsal today? Or are you and Marion going to practice?" Anna asked as Sora sat down.

"Well, I was going to help Marion learn another one of her mom's simpler routines in the morning, and maybe alter her mom's old costume… but I can come to the evening rehearsals?"

"Good. Sora, meet me in practice room four later," May said, or rather ordered.

"Okay, see you guys. Anna, have fun practicing your clown act, and Mia, May good luck at rehearsals!" Sora said as she got up to leave.

.**.~*~.**.

As she hurried to the Kids Stage Sora could see, and hear, Marion and Jonathan playing.

"Hey Marion, Jonathan!" Sora called as she walked towards the gate to the stage.

"Arf!" Jonathan replied as he bounced a ball back to Marion.

"Hey Sora!" Marion called. "I thought you wouldn't be able to help me today, but I'm glad you're here,"

"Yeah… well May and I decided to practice later… so you know," she replied sheepishly. "Anyways, which routine today?!" she asked, her mood changing to almost over enthusiastic.

"Well, I don't know. Mommy's book is over there. I think we've done all the easy ones already,"

"That's okay! We can start to work on the harder routines. I know you can pull them off Marion," Sora said as she reached for Cynthia's stage notebook.

"I really like the one from Romeo and Juliet, it's for two people. And I was kind of hoping Kalos would let me perform it with you," Marion hadn't been cast in the show, but Sarah had convinced Kalos (the company's director and Sarah's boyfriend of sorts) that if she came up with a good routine, then she could perform during the party scene before Anna's clown act.

"I'd love to Marion! Let's get to work then," Sora replied, smiling and flipping to the routine.

.**.~*~.**.

By lunch they had most of the act down, and it just needed a bit of polishing.

"Arf! Arf, arf?" Jonathan barked from his spot in the pool.

"Jonathan says its lunchtime!" Marion called mid twirl. "Can we go eat now?"

"Yeah! I think my stomach agrees with that idea," Sora replied just as her stomach gave a loud growl. "In fact I _know_ it does," she added on sheepishly.

"Come on Jonathan! Its lunchtime!" the younger girl crowed as she scooped up her furry friend and sat him on her head.

"See you later Marion! Bring your mother's costume!"

.**.~*~.**.

As she entered the lunchroom she quickly spotted Anna and Mia and quickly made her way over to them. As she made her way over she noticed everyone seemed to be talking about the same thing. All around she heard people asking: 'do you know who the new performer is?' and various bits of gossip.

"Anna, Mia, who are they talking about?" Sora asked as she pulled out a chair across from them and sat down.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" asked Anna, not unkindly but rather surprised.

"There's a new guy coming to the stage, someone from France I think," Mia informed her.

"What! Really?" Sora exclaimed completely thrown, it wasn't usual for someone to start in the middle of a season as far as she knew.

"Yep, he starts in three days, on Monday." Anna said and then she tacked on. "I wonder how he feels about practical jokes,"

"Anna," Mia and Sora groaned.

.**.~*~.**.

'_A new guy… I wonder what he'll be like, he's from France huh?" _Sora thought to herself.

Currently she was rushing towards the dressing rooms to meet with Marion for the second time today. The plan was to see if Cynthia's costume was small enough to be just barely altered to fit Marion and make Sora an original based on it, or if Sora should wear it and they make one for Marion. Either way they would need to make one costume, even if they didn't use it in this show they planned to perform the routine on the Kids Stage.

"I'm here!" Sora shouted as she burst through the door of the dressing room.

"Hey!" hollered Marion from behind a rack of colorful costumes. Followed by an "Arf!" from Jonathan, who had perched himself on Marion's head.

"I found my mommy's costume, Sora!" she said as she emerged from behind the costume rack. "But I think it's too big," she giggled as she pulled the costume from behind her back and held it up for Sora to see.

It was a knee length midnight blue practice dress with layers of light, gauzy fabric added over the skirt. The bodice had a silver ribbon sewn under the bust with some beading hanging off the edge. Overall it was a really simple and elegant costume. There was even a silver and blue mask to match.

"It's beautiful! Do you want to make an exact copy? Or should we make you a costume that is similar but all your own?" Sora asked, gently fingering the beautiful costume.

"I think that we should make a costume similar, but not the same," Marion replied, unsurprisingly. "You should see if my mommy's costume will fit you Sora," she said as she all but shoved the costume into Sora's arms.

They spent the next hour going over costume stuff before Sora had to leave to practice with May.

.**.~*~.**.

* * *

**[AN (as much as I hate to put one in):  
****I'll try to update soon. This isn't exactly where I wanted to end this chapter. Anyways, reviews are welcomed even if critical.]****  
**


	2. Shooting Star

**[IMPORTANT AN: I re-did this chapter (on March 29, 2013 - 03/29/2013) because I didn't like how much it jumped around originally. The original was up for just over 24 hours I believe, up on the 28th (of March) and exchanged on the 30th (of March). There are changes in the order things happen, and a bit of how they happen too. I'd re-read it, or skim it if you've read the original chapter II. There won't be an AN at the end because it's here. **** Hope you enjoy this story. Reviews are fun, but obviously not required, although it was a review that showed me that I wasn't the only one who thought the chapter skipped a bit, my thanks to Aimii0.]**

* * *

_**Chapter II**_

_**Shooting Star**_

.**.~*~.**.

"Sora! You're late!" May huffed.

"Sorry May. Marion and I got caught up. But I'm here now,"

"Well… it's okay, I guess. I haven't really started anyways," May admonished.

"Okay, I'm ready anytime," Sora replied as she finished stretching out a bit.

"Alright, let's go!" shouted a rather overenthusiastic May.

They practiced for a few hours, went through May's routine at least ten times, maybe more, Sora had lost count after eight.

"Okay, I'm done now. Ready to go?" May asked Sora who was just finishing the routine on the swings (trapeze).

"Yeah, sure. I think I've just about got it," Sora smiled and joined May on the floor.

After they had gotten all their things together they left and headed back to the dorms.

"Hey May? Is someone really joining the stage in the middle of the week?" Sora asked about the rumors from lunch. If anyone knew what was going on it would be May, she almost always knew the latest gossip.

"Yeah, some hotshot from France; he starts on Monday I think. I wonder if Kalos will give him a role in the show…" May continued on, but Sora stopped listening to most of the gossip spewing from May's lips.

"What's his name?" May stopped mid ramble and thought about Sora's very simple and should-be-known question.

"Well… I... I don't know?" she replied, although it came out more as a question than a statement.

"Oh, okay. See you tomorrow May!" Sora called as she hurried off to her dorm room down a few doors from May's room.

As soon as Sora entered her apartment she headed for the bathroom to shower. As she walked out after dressing in her summer pajamas, silky shorts and a silky t-shirt, she found herself thinking about how odd it was that Fool hadn't been around. The perverted Spirit of the Stage was nowhere in sight when she had walked in and hadn't popped up in the bathroom.

"A star approaches Sagittarius… I wonder who it could be," said a deep voice from nearby the kitchenette.

'_Speak, er __**think**__, of the devil and he shall appear!'_ Sora thought, somewhat agitated.

"Fool," she said curtly.

"Sora, didn't see you there…" Fool trailed off, being uncharacteristically non-perverted.

"Uh huh… I bet you were just hoping I'd come out in a towel weren't you?" she teased him.

"Umm… no? Well, not really," he replied, gulping at Sora's death glare. "Okay, bye!" he rushed out as he flew out of her reach. He didn't get another chance to think about who, or what, the approaching star belonged to as he was too busy running from Sora.

Eventually Sora caught Fool and unceremoniously tossed him out the sliding glass door, slamming it behind her. Before shutting off the lights and sliding into bed.

'_Why is a new cast member coming __**now**__? Is he going to be in the show? Wait, why do I care?'_ Sora thought becoming more confused by the minute as she lay on her back in bed.

.**.~*~.**.

_BZZT, BZZT, BZZZT, BZZZT, BZZZZ– _

Sora's alarm clock buzzed for a few moments before her hand came down upon the top with a hard _Thwack_.

It was only 6:00 in the morning, and she didn't have to meet anyone for rehearsal today since Layla and May weren't practicing for Cathy until Monday. An event which would inevitably lead to changes in choreography, but for now she knew it all.

Today wasn't a work day, in fact it was one of the days she had made sure she had off. Today was the anniversary of the fatal car crash that had ended the lives of both her parents.

Flopping out of bed Sora dressed in a lavender cotton sundress shot through with silvery silk threads making the dress shimmer in the sunlight. It was a favorite since it had been her mother's dress when she was a teenager. She rushed through her bathroom routine, slipped her nude ballet flats on and grabbed her purse and jacket as she left (and locked) her apartment door.

The first place she wanted to visit was the beach. Which worked out fine seeing as the shops wouldn't open for another hour and a half at least.

Her mother had always loved watching sunrises and sunsets, and it was something their whole family would do together on the weekends.

At the beach the sun had already begun to rise, bathing the sky and the beach in pinks and oranges. Sitting down on the sand Sora pulled her jacket tightly around her shoulders and watched the sun rise higher and higher in the sky. The sky slowly turning to a clear blue form the orange and pink hues it had first been.

'_Mom, Dad I wish you were here. Kaleido Stage is amazing. Everyone is so kind and we all have so much fun together. But I love seeing the audience smile. Like that time we saw _Alice in Wonderland_ and everyone was smiling,' _Sora thought as she looked out at the ocean.

'_Do you remember that time we went to France right before the accident? I got lost at the circus and a girl helped me get back. Do you remember? It was so scary, but she told me some really interesting things. I was dreaming about her earlier this week. I've been researching the _Angel's Maneuver_ that she talked about, but I can't find anything on it. It's as if it was all a dream,' _Sora thought as if she were talking to her parents. Sitting and watching the sunrise she remembered countless things she did with her parents, or things she wanted to talk to them about. Some were happy, others made her cry. But after a while everything just stopped, all the memories, thoughts and feelings. Everything was peaceful.

After a while of just enjoying the sun Sora's stomach decided that breakfast was in order and growled loudly. Sighing Sora stood and brushed off the loose grains of sand that had stuck to her clothes.

As she strolled back to the dorms she stopped in a little bakery. The bakery sold some of the best pastries Sora had ever had; both Parisian goods and American goods lined most of the shelves, but off to the side were a small assortment of Japanese sweets. The bakery had been here when her parents had brought her to see _Alice in Wonderland_ at the Kaleido Stage.

A light tinkling sound alerted the shop's owner, a kind older woman, to Sora's presence.

"Sora! It's nice to see you again," she called from behind the counter and waved.

"You too Mrs Roux," Sora replied as she made her way over to the counter. She had come here almost once a month since she had joined Kaleido Stage. Originally it had been for sentimental reasons, but she had grown to love the sweets so much overtime.

"What would you like today?" Mrs Roux asked as she reached for a container to put Sora's order in.

"Umm, I'd like two wagashi, a croissant, and a bag of the rose flavored hard candies, if you have them," Sora requested.

"Yes, of course. Here are your croissant, wagashi, and bag of rose flavored candies," she smiled as she handed Sora her order as the latter paid.

After a cheerful goodbye Sora continued her walk back to the dorms. The sun was shining brightly and more people had started their day.

Nearing the dorm she noticed the florist on the corner of the street had already opened for the day. The slight breeze was carrying the scent of the fresh flowers through the streets. It was a floral but almost fruity smell that drew passersby in with open arms.

Today the shop had tulips of all kinds on display, as well as some roses farther back and their usual stock of mixed flowers in their usual places around the store.

'_Maybe they have some purple tulips like the ones we used to buy for mom,'_ Sora thought as she crossed the street and headed towards the shop.

The scent in the shop was light and gentle, although one might think it should have been stronger due to how far the fragrance was carried by the wind.

After purchasing a bouquet of purple tulips, her mother's favorite, and a single white rose she, once again, headed back to the dorms.

Back home she would have gone to her parent's grave and left flowers and some offering of food. She, her aunt and uncle did that every year since she had gone to live with them. They would be taking Yume with them this year to pay their respects.

Since Sora was in California this year she wouldn't be able to place offerings on her parent's grave, so instead she settled for placing the flowers in an elegant vase on the windowsill with some of the sweets she had bought.

'_Mom, Dad. I hope you're doing okay. I miss you guys,'_ Sora thought as she finished placing some of the candies in a little dish on the windowsill with the flowers and wagashi from earlier.

.**.~*~.**.

After eating the croissant Sora had hung around her apartment reading. Mia had recently gotten into reading the classics, and wanted to produce shows based on some of the stories. Her most recent idea had been sparked reading _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ and wanted to reproduce the show. As a result she was trying to convince the cast and crew to read the story and give her their thoughts.

Growing tired of Alice and her rather curious thought patterns Sora started to drift off into her own world. At first it was just thoughts about the current production, then about her parents, and then about her friends. But in between each new subject she kept coming back to what Sophie had said. She couldn't shake the_ Angel's Maneuver/Act_ from her mind, or the sense that it was important.

'_Maybe I'll find _something_ at the library this time… although I haven't before, so why would I now?' _Sora though frustrated, yet determined to learn something, _anything_ about the elusive maneuver.

Deciding there really wasn't anything else to do she headed for the library. They opened early on Saturdays so even though it was only 10:00 they would be open.

At the library Sora looked through countless circus books and old programs as well as newspapers hoping to find _something_ about the _Angel's Maneuver/Act_, but turning up empty-handed.

She would have tried using a computer, but the ones at the library were ancient and crashed a lot.

'_I guess I'm never going to find anything here,' _Sora sighed frustrated that _nothing_ ever even _mentioned_ the move. There was _absolutely nothing_!

Sighing she stretched and put away the books she had drug out.

'_Maybe it's time to take Kalos up on the offer of a laptop,' _Sora thought. Kalos, after regaining his company [Kaleido Stage], had offered Sora a computer since she didn't own one. That, and the fact that she and Layla had practically saved the circus. But she didn't really _want_ a laptop, her family had one in Japan, but it wasn't something she had used much.

At the time she had turned down the offer Kalos had told her if she changed her mind to let him know.

'_I suppose I'm going to be accepting his offer,'_ Sora thought wryly.

.**.~*~.**.

After settling on her decision she called Sarah, hoping to find out if Kalos would be at the stage. Many of the stagehands were working on Mia's current set design so the stage was open, but Kalos didn't always hang around when there was only construction. Either way Sarah knew, she always knew where he would be.

Sarah being her usual quirky self had chirped Sora's ear off before telling her Kalos was at the stage before rushing off to her latest martial arts class, or whichever sport it was this week.

"Hey Boss?" Sora called as she knocked on Kalos's office door.

"Come in," a voice called from the other side.

"Umm, hey… so you know how you offered me a computer a while ago? Well I'd like to take you up on that offer," Sora said awkwardly as she slid into the room to stand across from the desk.

"I was wondering when you'd ask me. I was almost afraid you never would," Kalos said, the edges of his mouth pulling up ever so slightly into a small smile. Then, turning to his right, he pulled a box from a cabinet behind his desk.

"Wh- you knew I'd ask?" Sora asked slightly confused.

Kalos shrugged. "I knew you'd need it eventually. I was going to have Mia give it to you next week if you never came to ask.

"Anyways, this is a 13" Macbook Pro. It's already got all the programs you should need preinstalled. Oh, and you should get a laptop bag. Here, you're all set. Oh, and the dorms have wireless internet, but I think the laptop can also use cell towers to get a connection. Have fun," he said as he handed over the slim laptop box and shooed her out.

"Um, thanks?" Sora replied not really understanding a word about what kind of computer it was, nor understanding what he meant by cell towers.

.**.~*~.**.

Exiting the stage with the computer box in hand Sora spotted Marion and Jonathan.

"Hey Marion!" Sora called as she waved, approaching Jonathan's pool. Marion and Jonathan were playing in the water and training.

"Hey Sora!" she replied waving accompanied by a bark from Jonathan.

"I was looking for you. Do you want to practice for a little bit tomorrow? I'm free the whole day. And Sarah said her friend would be able to finish the dress by tomorrow afternoon," Sora asked as she entered the pool's enclosure ever mindful of the most definitely _not_ waterproof laptop in the box.

"Yeah, sure. Dad comes down around 1:00 pm tomorrow," Marion responded as she tossed a little red ball to Jonathan who bounced it back.

"Okay, I'll bring your costume and meet you at the dressing room around 1:30 pm then?"

"Yeah, I can't wait. But can a costume be finished in only three days?" Marion asked incredulously.

"I guess so? It's hard to believe. I asked the same thing," Sora smiled.

After throwing a few balls for Jonathan and talking to Marion a bit longer Sora picked up the computer box and headed back to the dorms once again, but making no stops on the way.

.**.~*~.**.

Back in her apartment Sora unpacked the computer and its accessories. It was all quite simple, the computer and a charger, plus a few manuals/guides.

After plugging it in and pressing the power button the screen came to life in an array of color. Kalos had already had the basics set up on the computer for her. There was even an email account set up for her (sora.n-at-kaleidostage . org) with a preset password she would have to change soon.

Clicking on the internet browser she typed _"Angel's Maneuver"_ in the search bar. About a million hits came back, but none of them were what she wanted. They were all just sites about Angels and sites about different Maneuvers for various things. No trapeze acts or anything!

'_It shouldn't be so __**impossible**__ to find __**something**__!' _Sora screamed internally.

Closing the internet she decided to try out her email, and send her parents an email. It didn't take long, despite having to create a password, finding their email and then actually writing a message. And before she knew it she was exploring all the programs Kalos had loaded for her.

'_This is amazing and all, but I don't get why he gave me a computer. I hardly ever choreograph, so I kind of doubt I'll use even half of these programs,' _she thought as she shut down the computer.

.**.~*~.**.

The next day Sora was woken by irrationally loud banging and shouting.

"SORA! Open up! Now! Hurry, hurry!" came a muffled, yet annoyingly loud voice from the other side of the door. Not to mention the loud bangs between shouting things.

"Hai! Oh, I mean, I'm coming, don't break my door," Sora accidentally began in Japanese, since she was, after all, half asleep and tended to revert to Japanese at such times.

Hopping out of bed she shuffled to the door, slowly opening it for fear of a fist to the face.

"Sora! Why are you still in your pajamas!? Hurry up, hurry up! I've got news! Let me in," May was there practically bouncing up and down. She shoved her way into Sora's apartment and started pulling clothes out and tossing them on the bed.

"What? It's only… only 7:30 _in the morning_ May," Sora checked the clock as she padded back to her bed and picked up the clothes. Grabbing them she went to the bathroom to change and try and wake up a bit before facing the way too over excited May in her room.

After washing her face with cold water, changing and going through her usual routine she was – sort of – ready to face May.

"Okay May. Now I'm more awake. What has you breaking down my door at this hour on a _Sunday_ of all days?" Sora asked as she fixed herself a bowl of cereal and sat at her kitchen table.

"It's Miss Layla and Yuri! The-" May began but was cut off by Sora.

"Miss Layla?! What happened!? Is she okay!?" Sora panicked.

"Let me finish! They were in a car accident. It's not bad, but neither can perform for the rest of the month. It's awful!" May finished.

"Oh no! No! I can't believe that would happen! And… what about the show? Who's going to do their parts?" Sora asked.

"I don't know. But Kalos just called to tell me to get you and come to his office. So let's go," May said as she stood up getting ready to leave.

"Oh, now? Okay," Sora replied as she rinsed her bowl out in the sink and set it to dry.

.**.~*~.**.

"Hey Boss, we're here," May announced as she knocked on Kalos's office door. She had half dragged Sora all the way from the dorms at breakneck speeds and wasn't tired in the least. Sora on the other hand was still a bit disoriented. She had woken up a bit talking to May, but not really enough to count as awake.

Electing an almost monotone "Come in" from the company's director.

"May, Sora. I assume you know that Layla and Yuri cannot perform for a while due to a minor car accident?" Kalos asked as he turned to face the two acrobats. Through his sunglasses his hard stare replaced with a slightly toned down version, showing that he was upset.

"Yes, that's what May told me," Sora replied although almost questioningly and still a bit spaced out.

"I'm going to need you in this show Sora. But as Rosaline and May will play Juliet this time," He said with an air of finality to it reverting to a more normal, all business/no-nonsense Kalos.

"Really? I get to play Juliet? Thank you so much, I won't let you down! But why me? And not Sora?" May replied, quickly getting herself pumped up and then asking what she didn't really want to ask.

"If you don't mind my asking, who is playing Romeo?" It had occurred to Sora fairly quickly that he hadn't said who would be Romeo, the other main character that needed to be around.

"Well, to answer your question May. I need Sora to do a trampoline act with Marion during the party scene. As for who will play Romeo, you'll find out soon enough," Kalos said evading the second, and probably more worrying, question.

"Really? Marion and I get to perform the trampoline?! Thanks Boss!" Sora exclaimed happily. She couldn't wait to tell Marion.

"Yes, you need to show your routine to everyone on Monday, tomorrow, before rehearsal starts at 3:00 pm. You guys can go now" was Kalos's stern reply as he shooed them out.

As soon as they were in the hall Sora turned to May.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you. I hope you get a good partner. I'm sure you'll do fantastic, May!" Sora said eyes twinkling as she smiled, excited for her friend.

"Thanks. But are you really okay with doing my part instead of the lead?" May asked rather curious to why Sora wouldn't want the lead role.

"Well, I would like to play Juliet sometime. But for now I'm happy being able to perform with Marion. It'll be her debut on the big stage, and I really do enjoy the routine. I know that may sound a little silly," Sora smiled softly as she came to the end of her mini rant.

"If you're sure. I have to go now, see ya!" May turned and hurried towards the lobby of the stage to leave.

.**.~*~.**.


	3. Nameless Artist

**[Semi-Important AN: I re-wrote a fair amount of Chapter 2, and I suggest you read it, or skim it, if you don't want to read the whole thing again. Here is Chapter 3, enjoy!]**

* * *

_**Chapter III**_

_**Nameless Artist**_

.**.~*~.**.

"Umm, excuse me, but could you tell me where room 317 is?" Sora asked the woman behind the desk in the hospital entryway.

"What's your name?" the nurse asked as she started typing on her computer.

"Sora, Sora Naegino. From Kaleido Stage," she replied quickly.

After her conversation with May, Sora had decided to go check on Layla and Yuri. She had gone back to Kalos to get their hospital room number, and so here she was now.

"Oh, yes it's up on the second floor in the section of private rooms. To the left when you get off the elevator," she said pointing towards the public elevators.

"Thanks!" Sora jogged towards the elevators and pressed the button, impatient to see Layla and Yuri. She was rather surprised the nurse hadn't questioned her to the moon and back, maybe the staff had been told to let Kaleido Stage members back.

Once the all too slow elevator opened on the second floor it only took Sora a minute or two to dart out and locate room 317.

_Knock, knock._ "Miss Layla, Yuri? Can I come in?" Sora sked as she knocked lightly on the room door.

"Sora? Is that you? Come on in," Layla, or at least who she presumed was Layla, responded.

"Hi Miss Layla. How are you? Kalos and May just told me you were in an accident," Sora asked as she took a seat on one of the chairs by the window.

"It wasn't too bad. The worst I've got right now is a concussion and sprained wrist. I think Yuri's got it worse," she (Layla) just shrugged.

"That's a relief. But where's Yuri?" the purple haired teen asked as she looked around the room for any trace of the blonde haired man.

"He's getting a cast. He broke his ankle, not badly just a small fracture, not even all the way through. Don't worry Sora, we'll be back before you know it," Layla tried to calm Sora, although (oddly enough) she was calmer than she usually was in her 'crisis mode' as Layla liked to call it.

"Oh. That's good," Sora trailed off absentmindedly, being swept up into her thoughts about the alterations that would be made to the upcoming show. If Yuri had broken a bone there was no way he could perform, but they didn't have any other leading male artists.

"Keep me company until he comes back?" Layla asked Sora trying to break the other girl from her thoughts.

"Oh, yes of course," she said as she broke from her reverie.

For the next half hour, until Yuri joined them, they talked about anything and everything. Even after he was back, Sora stayed with Layla and Yuri for another hour before giving her excuses to leave and head back to the dorms for lunch. She needed to pick up Marion's new costume on her way too. Excusing herself she hurried through her errand and grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the stage to meet Marion in the dressing room.

.**.~*~.**.

"Marion, that costume looks great on you!" Sora cheered as Marion modeled her new costume for the first time.

"Thanks Sora. What do you think, Jonathan?" Marion turned to her furry(ish) friend, receiving a bark in agreement.

The new costume was almost the same as the original except for the colors. Marion and Sora had agreed on changing making the color scheme of the new dress. It wouldn't be blue and silver, but rather light orange with gold. They were hoping to have a moon and sun kind of theme. Marion would be the sun, and Sora the moon, after all Juliet _was_ Romeo's sun, and as he's her opposite he'd be like the moon. It just seemed fitting, also since the original costume was blue and silver it was easier to do than make two new costumes.

"Do you want to practice in your costume?" Sora asked an excited Marion who was twirling in front of a mirror.

"Can I? Can I really?!"

"Yeah, it should be okay. You have to get used to a new costume anyways, and the mask too. It would be a good idea to practice in it," Sora concluded as she handed Marion her gold and orange mask, decorated with swirls and little gleaming gems, it was also the same design as the one Sora would wear, but like the dress was made in a different color scheme.

While Marion had performed on the Kids Stage in costumes that were of varying design and complexity, she had never had a mask, or anything on her face, save for the occasional make-up or sticker for a costume. Masks weren't hard to get used to per say, but they could throw you off if you didn't practice with one on at least once.

"You should wear your costume too!" Marion said as she held up the hanger with Sora's blue and silver costume.

"I'll wear mine next time. Let's go practice," Sora replied as she hung the hanger back on the rack with her other costumes.

No one was using the stage today for anything, so Sora and Marion when there to practice on the trampolines that had been set up. Since they were still in the rehearsal phase there were mats covering every inch of the floor should anyone miss their mark and fall.

"Okay, ready?" Sora smiled at Marion and they began.

The first few times were a bit rough. The mask, while held on securely, was odd to Marion. It didn't block her view though; it was merely a new sensation. In no time at all they were doing it perfectly. Every spin, jump, flip, they were all perfect. They were ready to show Cathy and Kalos at last.

"Marion! That looks great. I think we can show them tomorrow after lunch. What do you think?" Sora asked as they finished their second perfect run-through in a row.

"Really? That's awesome! Kalos said we could audition tomorrow?" Marion cried ecstatic but nervous, followed by a happy bark from Jonathan who had been watching from the sidelines.

"Yeah, I think we've got it perfectly. I'll go through it with you tomorrow at 11:30 am, before lunch, if you want? We could do a dress rehearsal of sorts?" Sora suggested, sensing Marion's nervousness.

"Okay. I'll meet you in the dressing room then tomorrow," she readily agreed.

.**.~*~.**.

"Sora!" Mia called to her as she was just stepping into the dorm's common room. Sora and Marion had finished up practice fairly quickly and parted ways; Marion leaving with her dad and Sora heading back to her dorm since it was nearing 4:30 pm. The latter had just hopped out of the shower, before which she had tied Fool up, when her cell phone started ringing loudly. Thus was the reason her hair was dripping water all over the floor while she tried to dry it with a towel.

"Mia. What's going on? What's so important you couldn't tell me _on the phone_?" Sora asked a bit annoyed by the rivulets of water flowing down her back.

"You're not the only one se wouldn't tell," May huffed from her spot at large wooden table in the center of the room.

Next to her was Anna, who was making up, or rather trying to come up with, puns for her clown act. Ken was also there sitting on May's right, but that was it, the place was deserted.

"I need your help. I don't know who the guy playing Romeo is, and I don't know if he can do Yuri's part, so I need you guys to help me make different versions of Romeo's part. May, Sora you two know the original best from performing with Yuri, can you help me make a few different versions?" Mia asked as she began stressing out over all the changes that would need to be made.

"Oh, is that all?" May asked.

"That doesn't seem too hard," Sora agreed, while Mia just looked like she was going to pass out because of her stress and anxiety.

"Come on Mia. Lighten up. It's not like we'll make you do this on your own," Anna added, trying to work out a pun or something to tack on at the end, but coming up empty.

"Really?" Mia's eyes shone with tears. "You guys are the best!" she shouted as she grabbed the nearest thing to her to hug the life out of, unfortunately that 'thing' was Sora, who coughed and sputtered.

"Yeah, we will. As long as you don't kill Sora," Ken added as Sora's face started to turn blue from lack of oxygen.

"Oh, Sora, I'm so Sorry!" Mia cried as she let her go.

"I'm good, I'm good," Sora waved away the concern of her hysterical friend.

"Enough trying to kill people with hugs, we have to start working if this needs to be done for tomorrow. And especially if we don't want to pull an all-nighter too," May said brusquely.

Several hours, and several stacks of paper, later they finally had three versions of _Romeo and Juliet_. There was the original version that Yuri and Layla usually did, and two simpler versions. The simplest had Romeo in only the essential scenes, no really flashy displays, and there had been a few scenes they had cut, where the focus was on others, like parts of the party. The one that was between the easiest and the original had Romeo in all of the original scenes, but the moves were simpler, and there were really only one or two really flashy moves. Neither was perfect, but they weren't that bad. They would work just as well as the original script, and there wasn't anything different for most of the cast, only May and Sora had a few spots they would have to change.

"Finally done!" Anna sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"I thought this was never going to end!" May exclaimed as she stretched out, sore from sitting on a wooden chair for the past two or so hours.

"Thanks so much you guys! I'd have never finished without you," Mia said happily as she packed away her laptop and the stack of papers.

"I'm sure you would have, Mia. But it was a nice way to kill some time," Sora replied, hoping to make Mia feel a bit better for asking them to spend so much time working on the script. It wasn't like Sora actually had any better plans or ideas for the day anyways.

"I think dinner should still be going on, we should all go get something to eat," Ken advised after checking his watch to see that it was 7:30 pm, and dinner was nearly over.

"Yes! Food! Real food! I was beginning to get so hungry I thought I'd have to eat the 'fruits' of our hard work," Anna gestured towards the script as she tried to make a joke.

"That… don't use that one in public," May said shaking her head at Anna's attempt at humor. The rest of them just rolled their eyes, too tired to really bother saying anything.

Dinner was relatively quiet. Ken had gone back to his house for the night, as the girls headed towards the kitchen/dining hall. No one really talked for the first few minutes because they were all so busy eating. When they had arrived there hadn't been anyone else there, but someone, probably Sarah, had set aside four plates of food with a note telling them to eat it.

The food was good, as it always was. Tonight was lasagna with a salad, and there was even a bit of ice cream for dessert.

After several minutes of nothing but eating May asked the question Sora had been wondering about all day.

"Mia, do you know who will be Romeo? I mean, I know you said you didn't know his skill level, and if he'd be able to take Yuri's part the way it was originally written, but do you know who the person is?" May asked in between a bite of lasagna.

"I'm not really sure. Kalos just said that he was going to bring a guy into the show this week and to be prepared for anything," Mia replied, puzzled over who the mystery man was as well.

"Well… we'll find out soon, I guess," Sora said, puzzled by the cryptic answers Kalos was giving everyone. "I'm going to go to bed now," Sora added as she got up to wash her plate.

"You don't want dessert?" Anna asked surprised by Sora's behavior.

"No, I'm too tired," Sora replied as she washed her dishes, her statement punctuated by a great big yawn. "Goodnight," she waved as she left for her room.

.**.~*~.**.

* * *

**[AN: Yes, I know I usually only have on note per chapter, I'll be quick. I don't quite know if I'll bring Leon into the story just yet. I'm still trying to decide. But let me know if you have an opinion. I also love getting feedback about my writing, if it's too jumpy, and I don't spend enough time in one place at a time, or whatever. It's nice to know because I can compare thoughts of others with my own.]**


	4. Romeo Montague

**AN: I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. FanFiction had some issues when I was trying to update.**

**Here's the next chapter. Hopefully I'll be able to write more soon. I have had this sitting around forever, I wouldn't say that it ends how I want, so I kind of let it hang as it is. I'll start on the next chapter sometime on Wednesday probably. Enjoy! I love feedback if you have any to give, even if it's not more than a few words.**

**And If you have ideas on Leon, and if you think Sophie should be in the story I'd love to hear them! I'm at a bit of an impasse.**

* * *

_**Chapter IV**_

_**Romeo Montague**_

.**.~*~.**.

Having fallen asleep sometime before 9:30 pm the night before, Sora was up before her alarm clock the following morning at about 6 am.

'_I guess I should get up. I can't sleep in really, and I'll only get another thirty minutes if I go back to sleep,'_ Sora thought as she lay awake in bed.

"Sora, it's not very nice to leave me tied up all night," Fool said, floating into Sora's line of vision.

"Yes, and? What's your point?" she glared at him before she stalked off to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. "You better be gone by the time I get back out there!" She shouted a Fool.

"Why does she always do that?" Fool whined to no one in particular, but obeyed Sora since he had no wish to be her next victim, _again_.

"Huh, he actually listened today. I guess his fortune would have sucked if he stayed, so he went," Sora wondered aloud as she exited the bathroom a few minutes later.

.**.~*~.**.

"Umm, Boss? Why are we at the airport?" Sora asked Kalos, eyes questioning.

She had been walking down the beach only twenty minutes ago, and now she was at the airport.

_**Flashback**_

_Sora had been walking down the beach towards the stage at 6:30 am to practice. After waking up a little while earlier and making herself breakfast in her kitchenette, she didn't have anything better to do. The sun wasn't fully up yet, but there was a pleasantly warm breeze blowing, ruffling her hair. Approaching the stage she saw Kalos standing by his car in front of the closed gates leading to the stage._

"_Hey Boss!" She called as she waved, catching his attention._

"_Sora, you're early," he held a hand up in acknowledgement._

"_I didn't have anything to do, so I came down here. I was thinking of practicing," she explained holding her practice bag, a white backpack with silver and pink trim, up as evidence._

"_But you're not busy, right?" Kalos asked, or rather stated._

"_Ummm, no? I guess not," Sora replied, rather confused by the question._

"_Good, you can come to the airport with me," Kalos said, letting out a breath, almost in relief._

"_I-I guess? Couldn't Sarah go with you?" she asked a bit befuddled._

"_Sarah's preparing stuff here, I was going to call May to come, but you showed up before I called her, and it doesn't really matter. Let's go," he stated, leaving little room to argue._

_**End Flashback**_

"We're here to get May's partner," it was the most he had said to her since she had gotten in the car.

"Oh, so _that's_ why you wanted May to come. But I'm not his partner so why _me_?" She asked incredulously.

"Why not? Then I don't have to deal with an angry artist," Kalos replied simply. He didn't think May would have been that mad, but if she was asleep he was sure he would be headless if he woke her up. As it was Sora was more agreeable too.

Sora just sighed. "Whatever then. So when does this guy get here? I don't really mind waiting, but I have to get back by 11 to meet Marion," she asked as she followed Kalos who was weaving his way to the exit for those going through customs. Sora could recognize it since she had come through the same gate when she first arrived in California.

"Anytime now," Kalos sat on one of the hard airport chairs, Sora plopped down in the other seat on his left and pulled a copy of the script for _Romeo and Juliet_ from her bag.

A few minutes later a flood of people streamed through the exit of the customs checkpoint making Sora look up from her 'reading'. Beside her Kalos had stood up and was looking around at the mass of people. Shoving her script back into her bag she stood up and slung a strap over her shoulder.

"Kalos Eido?" asked a voice to Sora's right. She looked up to see a man standing next to Kalos. From what she could see he had orange hair, a white shirt, and black slacks.

"Ah, Dio. It's nice to see you. I hope you had a pleasant flight?" Kalos asked, offering Dio his hand.

"Kalos, it's nice to see you. Yes it was fine," he replied.

'_He got _Dio_ to come? Really?!'_ Sora thought to herself in disbelief.

"You remember Sora Naegino? She came to perform with you guys just about a year ago," Kalos said, confirming that the man was indeed the Dio from Theatrical Camp.

"Dio! It's great to see you again. I never thought I'd see the day that you come to perform on Kaleido Stage," Sora teased him. At Theatrical Camp nothing was rehearsed, which was the way Dio and the others liked it, so seeing him here now seemed unusual.

"Well it's not like you came to visit us," he replied teasingly.

"Well I've been kind of busy," Sora replied sheepishly trailing off at the end.

"If you've got everything we should be heading back to the stage," Kalos said turning to head back out to the car.

Sora and Dio followed, chatting about what had happened since Dio had come to Cape Mary to perform with them at Marine Park. Reaching the car Kalos and Dio went around to the trunk to put his luggage (a large suitcase and backpack) in it, while Sora slid into the middle back seat and buckled up, setting her bag on the seat next to her.

"Sora, would you call May and Mia, and tell them to meet us at my office in fifteen minutes?" Kalos asked, as he started the car. Dio had slid into the passenger seat next to him.

"Yes. I will," Sora replied, pulling her phone from the front pocket of her bag.

It only took a moment before the device was calling May, who picked up on the fourth ring.

"**Sora? This better be good, I'm busy right now,"**May grouched on the other end of the line.

"Good morning to you too. The Boss wants you at his office in fifteen, see you there," Sora replied, ending the call once the message had been relayed, not in the mood to deal with May's ranting.

Sighing, she quickly dialed Mia's number, hoping she was in a better mood than May was. After only one ring she picked up.

"_Morning Sora," _Mia greeted her, much the opposite of how May had.

"Morning Mia. Boss wants you and May at his office in fifteen minutes. May's in one of her moods, so you might want to remind her to come," Sora trailed off, not really needing to say more for Mia to understand what had happened.

"_She's grouchy and bitchy, so you hung up, huh? It's okay, I'll get her,"_Mia laughed at their friend's childishness.

"Kay, see you then," Sora said as she hung up.

"They'll be there," she said turning to Kalos, who had a small smile on his face, having a pretty good idea of what May had said. It was pretty normal, and was the reason he hadn't wanted to wake her this morning. Several of the staff had gotten the same treatment, a mad May was something to avoid at _all_ costs.

.**.~*~.**.

Nearing the stage Kalos drove through the gates which he had opened before leaving for the airport. He parked in his usual spot around the side of the stage near one of the staff entrances.

"I'll drive you over to the dorm building, feel free to leave what you don't need in the car," Kalos said to Dio as he opened the trunk to grab his briefcase.

He nodded and grabbed his backpack when Kalos stepped away from the trunk. "I just need this for now," he said as he pulled one of the straps of the bag over his shoulder.

Sora, who had hopped out before the two of them was headed towards the entrance, backpack in hand. She wanted to get this meeting over with quickly so she could warm up a bit before practice with Marion. Hopefully she'd be able to practice her (new-ish) role as Rosaline before rehearsal started in the afternoon too.

She waited for a few minutes for them to join her before entering the building.

"Welcome to the Kaleido Stage," she said to Dio as she pulled the door open, letting both Kalos and Dio enter before her.

The walk to Kalos' office was a short one from the side they had entered on. It only took them a minute to reach the large double doors.

Mia and May were already sitting on the two chairs when they entered.

"May, this is your partner for _Romeo and Juliet_, and I suppose he's your partner for one scene too Sora," Kalos said as he walked around to sit behind his desk.

"Dio, from the Theatrical Camp," he said, moving to stand by the desk.

"Dio, this is May Wong, she will be playing Juliet. And this is Mia Guillem, she directs the shows with Cathy Taymor, who you will meet this afternoon. And you've met Sora before, multiple times if I'm not mistaken," Kalos gestured to each person.

Pointing to Sora he continued. "She will be Rosaline in this production, as well as a performer in the party scene with one of our youngest performers. Today will be the first day May takes over Layla's role as Juliet, and Sora takes on May's role as Rosaline, you can chose to practice or just observe today. I'll take you back to the dorms now," Kalos said as he rose and walked towards the door.

Dio followed, waving to the three of them before walking out the door.

.**.~*~.**.

May, Mia, and Sora followed soon after, each heading in a different direction. Sora hurried to the dressing room to change into her practice clothes and then headed back to the stage. No one would be practicing there for several hours yet.

She had about an hour to practice Rosaline's part. It wasn't very long; she only came on to perform three times. Mia had worked in a dance with Romeo at the beginning where she rejects him, as well as two other shorter scenes with a few other cast members. They totaled about seven minutes tops, and weren't complicated either.

She had gotten through all of the parts several times before the doors slammed open startling her and making her miss the trapeze swing, leading to her trying to twist just enough to land on one of the trampolines. Thankfully she was able to land on the center of the trampoline rather than the edge or the floor. Sighing in relief she jumped to the ground and turned towards the doors.

"Boss, Dio? What are you doing here?" Sora asked, it wasn't like Kalos _never_ watched rehearsal, he watched it most of the time, but he didn't usually just walk in without knocking.

"Oh, Sora, sorry I didn't think anyone was in here. I was just giving Dio a tour of this building. I'm sorry if we interrupted," he apologized, not really wanting to get on Sora's bad side, which would inevitably lead to being on Sarah's bad side.

"I won't tell Sarah," Sora replied smiling as she rolled her eyes. A few months back he had startled Sora into falling from the trampoline, ending in a minor concussion because she hit her head on the hard edge. Sarah, having found out about the incident, had been mad at Kalos for a week.

"Are you busy right now?" he asked.

"No, I have some time before Marion is supposed to meet me. Why?" she asked as she walked over to where they were standing off to the side of the stage.

"I have to go. Can you show Dio around the stage and dressing rooms, we already went to the costume 'closet' and practice rooms," Kalos more ordered than asked.

"Yeah, I can. See you later Boss," Sora gestured for him to follow her onto the stage.

"This is the stage, obviously. That's the house, it has way more seats than I care to count. I honestly don't really want to know how many it can hold either. There are stairs that can be added to the edge of the stage when we have scenes that we interact with the audience in. We don't have live music, but our speakers are everywhere," Sora gestured towards each thing.

"The emergency power switch is on the wall back there, it's pulled if a performer has an accident, or something goes wrong with the electronics during a show. Not like the music is messed up, more like if something is dangerous. It just cuts off all the power to the stage.

"The control booth is up there on stage right. Mia always watches from there if she's not in the show. The trapeze are pulled up when not in use, and lowered when needed. There are ladders leading up to the upper levels. We mainly use the stage level and second level, although there are something like five levels total, the top usually is just where the trapeze are left, so the audience can't see them, but they lower down really easily. The other sets go into the wings, or under the stage.

"Really the whole stage is practically alive. Trampolines can be lowered under the stage; people can use all sorts of tricks and trap doors. It's rather crazy. There's actually another control room down there controlling everything under/in the stage." Sora finished describing the general stage setup.

"Come on, I'll show you the dressing rooms," She turned towards the door and walked out, followed closely by Dio. They walked down the hall in silence, save for the tapping of his black shoes.

"This one is mine, which is the only reason I can let you in. Marion's costumes are generally stored with mine in here, instead of in the costume closet, since both of our costumes are usually made specifically for us, or we own them, or both. For me it's mainly that my costumes are made to transform at a specific point, and if someone else tries to wear it, it usually doesn't end very well," Sora explained as she pulled her key from the small zippered pocket of her shorts and unlocked the door.

Her dressing room was fairly small compared to the main cast dressing rooms, but since she didn't share it with anyone it was more space than she would get if she shared a bigger room with one of the other girls. It was also the only room that costumes were kept in year round aside from the costume closet. She didn't have very many costumes actually; there was the one from the _Legendary Great Maneuver_, the one from _Marion's Debut_, and a few other costumes she had from performing on the Kids Stage. They also stored Marion's costumes here, and some of Cynthia's costumes that Sora wore on occasion.

"Most dressing rooms have two people per room or more, and are bigger than mine. Marion isn't a performer on the main stage, so she hasn't yet been assigned a dressing room. During this show she'll probably share with me, but only because it's closest to the stage. I think you'll be in Yuri's dressing room. He's the only other person aside from me without someone they share with," she tried to explain the system.

"That's really complicated," Dio commented. The Theatrical Camp was so much simpler than this odd system.

"It's not so bad once you get used to it. Anyways, I've been meaning to ask, and I hope you won't take offence to this question, but do you know how to perform more than just your usual whip routines?" Sora asked, curious since she had only ever seen him with a whip on stage.

"What kind of performer would I be if I couldn't?" Dio responded teasingly.

"Eh… sorry," she apologized, flushing in embarrassment.

"It's a valid question," he chuckled. Some of the others at the camp had asked him the same thing when he first joined.

"Marion should be coming any minute now," Sora said as she glanced at the clock.

"Sora!" called a cheerful voice from the doorway, followed by an arf as Jonathan appeared next to Marion's foot.

"Perfect timing. Marion, this is Dio. He will be Romeo in the show. Dio, this is Marion Benigni. She's my trampoline partner and partner at the Kids Stage. Oh, and this little guy is Jonathan. He performs with Anna at the Kids Stage," She said picking Jonathan up to introduce him.

"You have a seal here? I wish we had an animal at Theatrical Camp!" he said as Sora set Jonathan back on the floor.

"Marion, we should change. Your costume is hanging over there, go change in the bathroom. I'll change after you," Sora pointed to the garment bag with the 'sun' costume in it and the bathroom at the back of the room.

"Okay, just a sec then," Marion replied slipping into the bathroom with her costume.

"You can watch if you want," Sora said turning back to Dio.

"That sounds good. And as it is I don't really know where anything is, so I can't really leave anyways," he said nodding.

"I'm done Sora. I'll meet you at the stage!" Marion said as she picked up Jonathan and left.

"I'll just be a few minutes," she said, slipping into the bathroom with her 'moon' costume Sora hastily changed. Stepping out of the bathroom she grabbed her mask and Marion's from the counter under the mirror that served as a make-up table of sorts.

"Come on, back to the stage," she motioned to Dio as she grabbed her keys and walked out. He followed and waited while she locked the door and put the keychain into a tote bag with her satin performance slippers and cell phone.

When she was practicing she preferred to use canvas ballet shoes. They were less expensive, and lasted longer than the satin and leather ones she performed in. The ones for this routine would need to be dyed midnight blue for Sora and another pair would need to be dyed orange for Marion. These would be the first satin performance shoes for Marion. At the Kids Stage they used canvas shoes because of the water.

"You can sit in the audience, or stand backstage," Sora said as she went to talk to Marion.

"Here's your mask, I'm ready when you are," Sora told her as she handed her the gold and orange mask, and tied her own on as well. They were only tied on by a ribbon, but they were designed in such a way that they would stay on.

"Mm Hmm," Marion replied as she tied her own mask on. "Okay, I'm ready," she said as she took her starting place.

"Let's just run through it, and we can adjust if necessary," Sora suggested.

They only practiced three times before calling it good for the day. They _did_ still have to perform it for Cathy later.

Neither had heard, nor noticed that Dio had moved from his spot backstage to one of the seats in the front row. Well, not until Sora was trying to find him.

"Dio?" she called into the wings where he had been standing before.

"I am out here," he replied lazily, startling Sora.

"Argh! Are you a ghost or something?" she yelled as she turned around to face him.

"No, I'm far too solid to be a ghost," he joked, pretending to try and stick his arm through the seat next to him.

"Ha ha," Sora deadpanned. "I'm going to just go and change. You can hang out here, I'll be right back," She said grabbing her bag and heading towards the exit that Marion and Jonathan had just left through.

"It's just me," Sora called out as she entered the dressing room.

"Here are your keys. I'm going to go feed Jonathan and get lunch. See you in a little bit, Sora!" Marion said happily as she handed Sora her keys on her way out.

"See you later Marion. Remember 2:00 pm, and don't be late!" she called after her.

Once Marion and Jonathan had left Sora quickly changed. She was just getting ready to leave her room, she even had her bag over her shoulder and the lights off, but was interrupted by her cell phone vibrating in her jacket pocket. Resigned to the fact that lunch would have to wait another few minutes she turned the lights back on and sat on her chair.

"Hello?" she asked, hoping that it wasn't May calling to yell at her.

"Sora, this is Kalos. Are you still at the stage with Dio?"

"Yes? I just finished practice with Marion. Dio should be back on the stage, I just had to change," Sora replied, confused about why it mattered.

"Good. You can take him somewhere for lunch then. I can't make it; I have a meeting with Mr Kenneth in ten minutes," Kalos stated in a tone leaving no room to argue.

"Sounds good. Say hi to Mr Kenneth for me," she liked Mr Kenneth; he was one of the only investors that came to watch rehearsals on a regular basis.

"I will," Kalos replied before hanging up and locking up her dressing room.

Entering the stage Sora made sure to close the door quietly. The darn thing was too loud for its own good most of the time.

Looking around for Dio she found him jumping on the trampolines a bit.

"Dio!" she called up to him, once he was more or less in the center, with less of a chance of falling.

"Hey Sora," he said before jumping down onto the stage in front of her.

"According to Kalos, I'm taking you to lunch now," she smiled.

"Sounds good. Are your friends coming? Like Anna and Mia?" Dio asked remembering her two close friends from when he had come to perform at the Marine Park with them.

"I was going to ask if you minded. If it's okay I'll give them a call,"

"Sounds fine. So, what's good around here?" he asked as they headed out the stage door towards the main lobby.

"I wouldn't really know. I don't get out much; usually I just go to the cafeteria for dinner and cook my own lunch and breakfasts," Sora explained. Even though she had lived here for a while, she didn't really like to go out to eat, and rarely did. "Mia might know of a good place. I'll call her and get her to bring Anna with her," she said as she dialed Mia's number.

"_Hey Sora,"_ Mia answered on the second ring, having seen the caller ID.

"Mia! Would you know any good cafés or other lunch places by the stage?"

"_Well there's that really good café about ten minutes away. I think it was called _Café Flora_ or something,"_ she replied, remembering the time that she, Anna and Sora had gone there for lunch.

"Okay, great. Will you and Anna meet Dio and I there? Kalos had a meeting, so I'm supposed to take him for lunch, and he wanted to catch up with you guys again," Sora explained.

"_Yeah! I'll meet you there in ten. Anna and I were just thinking about getting lunch. We're just down the beach right now,"_ she said before hanging up.

"Okay, Mia and Anna are going to meet us at the café. It's a place called _Café Flora_, I've been there before they have really great food," Sora said to Dio as they walked out the front door of the building.

.**.~*~.**.

"Sora!" Anna called as she and Dio entered the restaurant, waving them over to the table she and Mia were seated at.

"Hey Anna," Sora said as she and Dio approached the table. "You remember Dio? He came to perform with us at the Marine Park," she introduced her companion as she sat down across from Mia, and Dio sat in the last available seat across from Anna.

"Yeah, of course I do. The whip dude who kept ruining my roses," she mock pouted eliciting a round of laughter from the three others.

"Yep, that's me. The rose killer," Dio snickered.

"So Dio, how much experience do you have on the trapeze?" Mia asked, curious since she had never seen him perform anything other than his specialty, whip routines.

"Well, I'm not nearly as good as Sora or Pamela, but I've performed on them on and off for the past several years," Dio had been expecting the question, and was surprised it had taken so long for someone to ask him, again. Although Sora's inquiry about him doing something other than whip routines wasn't exactly the same.

"Who's Pamela?" Anna asked. She had heard Sora mention her once before, but never found out who 'Pamela' was.

"Oh, Pamela is the trapeze artist at Theatrical Camp. I told you about her after I visited them last year," Sora replied for Dio. She was pretty sure she had actually told Anna and Mia about her, but then again Anna didn't listen half the time.

"So are you joining up permanently? Are you the new performer that's joining today?" Mia asked curious to know if this was the 'new guy' everyone was talking about.

"No, I have to go back once the shows are finished. Kalos said he was going to shorten the run, so I'll leave in just under a month," he said, giving them information about the show they hadn't heard until now.

"Oh, that's too bad, I didn't know he was going to cancel shows," Anna piped up.

"Hello, my name's Emily. May I take your order?" a waitress asked pen and pad of paper in hand to take their orders.

Sora and Dio opened their menus and quickly chose their meals while Anna and Mia ordered theirs. Once the waitress left they resumed their chatter.

"Hey Dio, did Kalos show you to the building of practice rooms where old sets are stored? I think it was an old warehouse. It's on the way to the dorms," Sora asked. Kalos hadn't been showing Dio around that long before interrupting her, so she wondered if they had made it that far.

"There's _more_ practice rooms?" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course there are! While the main building with the stage is big it's not nearly big enough for all the practice rooms we need," Anna butted in.

"Yeah, we actually have another stage too, well pool really, but it can be converted to a stage. It's where the Kids Stage is when we don't have a bigger performance that needs the pool," Mia added.

"What exactly is the Kids Stage?" Dio asked, he had heard it mentioned a few times today, but it hadn't been explained.

"Well a few months ago we didn't have a show for the kids to enjoy, so we asked Kalos if we could make a Kids Stage. We have shows at least twice a week. There are no trapeze acts though, it's hard to bring trapeze onto the stage. It was around then that Marion decided she wanted to perform the trampoline, and her dad gave her Cynthia's, her mom's, stage notebook. The notebook has a lot of ideas for routines, one of which was _Marion's Debut Stage_, designed by Cynthia. So we used that the first time we did the Kids Stage. It was her debut and the main focus of the show," Sora explained.

"So basically it's a way for new performers to get to perform on a stage, even if it's not a major show," Mia added.

"That sounds like a lot of work," Dio paled just thinking about how much was always going on around here.

"It is a lot, but it's also fun. You know you should really go see all of the buildings after this," Sora suggested.

"Then I'd have a chance at being able to find stuff, that's a good idea," he readily agreed, not really wanting to be late for something because he couldn't find the room or building.

"I'd take you, but I'm busy later. And Mia is too… I'm sure Anna could show you around!"

"What? But I –" Anna began.

"Don't have rehearsal until 3" Mia finished for her.

"Oh, yeah, no rehearsal," Anna agreed.

"Good you can take Dio on a tour of the other buildings and when you're done come back to the main one for rehearsal at 3:00 pm," Sora concluded before digging into the food the waitress had brought in the middle of their conversation.

.**.~*~.**.


End file.
